Staff reporter:
Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram yesterday said that the sons of the soil are more courageous and braver than any other nation in the world.
“Dedicating one to serving the motherland is a matter of great honour. Members of the armed forces have never hesitated to sacrifice their lives whenever the country needed them,” he said.
He said this as the chief guest at a programme titled ‘Veterans Day’, organised by the Retired Armed Forces Officers Welfare Association (RAOWA) at the RAOWA Convention Centre in the capital today.
Hafiz Uddin, also a founding member of RAOWA, said, “Being a member of the armed forces is a matter of pride and being a member of RAOWA is equally a matter of pride. The eight years I spent in the armed forces were the best years of my life.”
Recalling memories of the Great Liberation War, Hafiz Uddin said that in 1971, five battalions of the East Bengal Regiment first revolted at five army cantonments. But immediately after independence, the history of the Great War of Liberation was distorted and the contributions of the East Bengal Regiment were denied.”
He also noted that the ordinary people of the country also fought the war and took up arms to fight for the country despite having no military training.
He said “The past 15 years were marked by misrule and during the mass uprising of 2024, the students and people of the country demonstrated heroic courage where Abu Sayeed stood defiantly before the level led bayonets.”
“The armed forces also played a supportive role in the uprising,” he noted.
Highlighting the importance of establishing democracy in the country, he said the Great War of Liberation was fought to establish democracy and there is no alternative to democracy for the country’s development.
Retired members and officers of the armed forces, retired soldiers and army officers of the East Bengal Regiment and other distinguished guests attended the programme.
